One embodiment relates to the field of managing messages sent to a user.
The increasing use of real time or quasi-real time communications tools in a professional context (text or mobile telephony, instant messaging, short message service (SMS), email) serves to facilitate exchanges of information between people. Nevertheless, the immediate nature of such exchanges presents the drawback of interrupting the current activity of a user, which can be prejudicial to that activity, in particular if the activity requires a certain amount of concentration.
Such interruptions or sudden changes of activity can be disturbing for the user depending on the user's level of concentration, mood, the nature of the user's work, the frequency of interruptions, etc., and consequently can be detrimental to the operation of the business. The cognitive resources required for switching in impromptu manner from one activity to another and then returning to the current activity can be very great.
Conversely, a call or a message that is ignored can leave the caller/sender with the impression that the user does not desire to answer personally, or that the subject of the message is uninteresting, or that the message has not been received, where in fact it is merely that the user has not had the time to answer. This can lead to a negative impression on the part of the caller/sender.
One embodiment relates to a method and a device for managing messages to a user that improves this situation, at least to some extent.